Storage system and data transfer method of storage system

ABSTRACT

A storage system is described and includes a storage apparatus for storing data used by an external apparatus, first and second temporary data storage units, a host interface, a disk interface, and first and second controllers. The first controller is configured to select as a data transfer process, when the host interface receives a command from the external apparatus, one of a first data transfer process and a second data transfer process based on the command. The first data transfer process is a data transfer from the first temporary data storage unit to the external apparatus by the host interface. The second data transfer process is a data transfer from the first temporary data storage unit to the second temporary data storage unit by the second controller, and a data transfer from the second temporary data storage unit to the external apparatus by the host interface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/653,788, filed Oct. 17, 2012, incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety, which is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.12/935,902, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,316,195, (National Stage ofPCT/JP2010/005542), filed Sep. 30, 2010, incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a storage system and a data transfermethod of a storage system, and particularly relates to a storage systemand a data transfer method of a storage system that can achieve higherdata I/O performance even when hardware resources are limited.

BACKGROUND ART

The importance of storage systems has been continuously increasing intoday's information society. In recent years, there has been a demandfrom the market for storage systems that are low-cost but still canachieve high performance in particular.

It is common in most storage systems that a host interface (hereinafter,“host I/F”) performs a data transfer process between a host computer anda cache memory while a disk interface (hereinafter, “disk I/F”) performsa data transfer process between a cache memory and a storage device.Note that, the host I/F and the disk I/F may be collectively referred tobelow as “protocol chip.”

The operation of storage systems, however, has various problems that arehard to solve using general-purpose protocol chips.

For example, when data is to be transferred from a storage device to acache memory including an area where dirty data being update data yet tobe written to a disk exists, the data needs to be transferred to thecache memory while avoiding the above area in order to avoid overwritingthe dirty data with the transferred data. This case has a problem that adisk-read process needs to be performed a plurality of times. Withrespect to this problem, PTL 1 discloses a method for minimizing thenumber of disk-read processes. This method, called “bitmap staging”,uses the function of the data transfer controller called DMA (DirectMemory Access) to transfer only the necessary part of the data to thecache memory while selectively making a mask for the area where thedirty data is stored.

In addition, PTL 2 discloses a method for detecting a failure in storingdata in its entirety in the storage apparatus, for example. This methoduses DMA to append to the transfer data a special error detection code,called WRSEQ#, which is hard to provide with use of general-purposeprotocol chips, and to check the appended special error detection code.

Besides the aforementioned examples, there are many storage systems thatinclude an LSI (Large Scale Integration) with the DMA in addition toprotocol chips, and that use the functions of DMA, such as dual-writingprocess to a cache memory, in order to achieve functions which are hardto provide with use of general-purpose protocol chips.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

-   PTL 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 6-28261-   PTL 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No.    2009-64363

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

The delay of a process (hereinafter, “latency”) in a processor executinga DMA-involved process is usually greater than the latency involved inthe transfer using only the protocol chips. In order to hide thelatency, data needs to be redundantly and simultaneously transferred.For such a multiplex data transfer, a buffer with a suitable capacityneeds to be introduced, however. Further, special functions of DMA suchas the bitmap staging and appending/checking of the special errordetection code are based in many cases on the premise that the bufferarea exists in an area other than the cache memory area. Meanwhile,middle-range-class or entry-class storage systems are desired to be costeffective. Thus, storage systems in these classes are highly required toachieve higher I/O performance with limited hardware resources.

The present invention is made in view of the problems above. Thus, anobject of the present invention is to provide a storage system and adata transfer method of a storage system that can achieve higher I/Operformance even when hardware resources are limited as in the case ofmiddle-range-class and entry-class storage systems.

Solution to Problem

In order to achieve the aforementioned object or other objects, oneaspect of the present invention provides a storage system including: astorage apparatus that stores therein data used by an externalapparatus; first and second temporary data storage units thattemporarily store therein data to be written to the storage apparatusfrom the external apparatus or data read from the storage apparatus; afirst data transfer controller communicatively coupled with the externalapparatus, the first and second temporary data storage units and thestorage apparatus, and controls data transfer between the externalapparatus, the first and second temporary data storage units and thestorage apparatus; a second data transfer controller communicativelycoupled with the first and second temporary data storage units, thatcontrols data transfer between the first and second temporary storageunits, and performs a data processing function not included in the firstdata transfer controller; and a data transfer control management unitthat causes any one of a first data transfer process and a second datatransfer process to be performed upon receipt of a data I/O request fromthe external apparatus, the first data transfer process executing datatransfer between the external apparatus and the storage apparatus viathe first temporary data storage unit under control of the first datatransfer controller, and the second data transfer process executing datatransfer between the external apparatus or the storage apparatus and thefirst temporary data storage unit under control of the first datatransfer controller and executing data transfer between the firsttemporary data storage unit and the second temporary data storage unitunder control of the second data transfer controller.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a storagesystem and a data transfer method of a storage system that can achievehigher data I/O performance even when hardware resources are limited asin the case of the middle-range and entry-class storage systems.

The solution, configuration and the effect of the present inventionother than those described above are illustrated by the description ofembodiments below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary configuration of an informationprocessing system 1 including a storage system 200 to which the presentinvention is applied.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a computer 10 that canbe used as a host computer 100 and a management apparatus 110.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary software configuration of the hostcomputer 100 and the management apparatus 110.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary hardware configuration of a host I/F201.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary hardware configuration of a CPU 203.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary hardware configuration of a disk I/F208.

FIG. 7 illustrates exemplary information that is stored in a localmemory 204.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary host I/F transfer table 300 that storestherein transfer information used for data transfer by the host I/F 201.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary disk I/F transfer table 400 that storestherein transfer information used for data transfer by the disk I/F 208.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary DMA transfer table 500 that storestherein transfer information used for data transfer by the DMA 205.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary status where the host I/F transfertable 300, the disk I/F transfer table 400, the DMA transfer table 500,and a direct transfer flag 600 are stored in the local memory 204 astransfer information.

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a direct transfer inthe storage system 200.

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary configuration of two-step transfer inthe storage system 200.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart schematically illustrating a selection processof a data transfer method.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating an example of another processingmethod of the selection process of a data transfer method.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process of subroutineS901 in FIG. 14.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart illustrating another example of the process ofsubroutine S901 in FIG. 14.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating a data flow where dualwriting of data from the host computer 100 to a cache memory 206 isperformed.

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram illustrating a data flow where dualwriting of data from a storage device 210 to the cache memory 206 isperformed.

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram illustrating a data flow where aplurality of dirty data is independently destaged into a plurality ofstorage devices 210.

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram illustrating a data flow where aplurality of dirty data are compensated with staged data and thendestaged into a plurality of storage devices 210.

FIG. 22 is a flow chart illustrating another example of subroutine S901in FIG. 14.

FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary data flow wherea staging process is performed on direct transfer, not involving abitmap staging process.

FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary data flow wherea staging process is performed on two-step transfer, involving a bitmapstaging process.

FIG. 25 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary subroutine S902 inFIG. 14.

FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram illustrating how a part of a buffer area207 is changed into an area of the cache memory 206.

FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram illustrating how a part of an area of thecache memory 206 is changed into the buffer area 207.

FIG. 28 illustrates an exemplary transfer method selection referencetable 1800 that stores therein reference information for selecting adata transfer method.

FIG. 29 illustrates an exemplary configuration of an informationprocessing system 1 including storage systems 200 a and 200 b to whichthe present invention is applied.

FIG. 30 illustrates an exemplary remote-copy control information table1900 that stores therein control information used for a remote copy.

FIG. 31 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary subroutine S901 inFIG. 14 when the subroutine S901 is applied to the configuration in FIG.29.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, first and second embodiments are described with referenceto the drawings as embodiments of the present invention.

First Embodiment

Firstly, the first embodiment of the present invention is described withreference to FIGS. 1 to 28. FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplaryconfiguration of an information processing system 1 of the firstembodiment.

The first embodiment relates to a data I/O process of the presentinvention that is performed in a single storage system. Theconfiguration illustrated in FIG. 1 shows an outline of the presentinvention to such an extent that the present invention can be understoodand realized. Accordingly, the configuration of the present invention isnot limited in FIG. 1.

The information apparatus 1 of the first embodiment illustrated in FIG.1 includes a host computer 100 (external apparatus), a storage system200 that is communicatively coupled with the host computer 100, and amanagement apparatus 110 that is communicatively coupled with thestorage system 200.

The host computer 100 is coupled with a host I/F 201 included in thestorage system 200. The host computer 100 uses the storage system 200 asa data storage area for software such as applications running on thehost computer 100. Although a single host computer 100 is coupled with astorage system 200 in the example in FIG. 1, a plurality of hostcomputers 100 may be coupled therewith.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary computer 10 that can be used as the hostcomputer 100. The computer 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit)11, a volatile or non-volatile memory 12 (RAM (Random Access Memory) orROM (Read-Only Memory)), a storage device 13 (for example, HDD (HardDisk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive)), an input device 14 such as akeyboard and a mouse, an output device 15 such as a liquid crystalmonitor and a printer, and a network interface such as NIC and HBA(referred to as “network I/F 16”).

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary software configuration of the hostcomputer 100. The host computer 100 includes an operating system(Operating System, hereinafter “OS”) 101 that is fundamental softwarecontrolling hardware resources of the host computer 100, variousapplications 102 that are application software to be run on the OS 101,and a data I/O unit 103 that performs a data I/O process with theexternal apparatuses. The data writing process from an application 102to the storage system 200 and the data reading process from the storagesystem 200 are performed in a manner such that a host I/O request issuedvia the data I/O unit 103 is sent to the host I/F 201 of the storagesystem 200 described later.

The management apparatus 110 receives an instruction from the manager ofthe storage system 200 via input devices such as a keyboard and a mouseand has a function of sending the received operation or maintenanceinstruction to each apparatus via the management I/F 211 provided in thestorage system 200. The management apparatus 110 is, for example, apersonal computer or an office computer and has a configuration of acomputer 10 illustrated in FIG. 2.

The management apparatus 110 may be integrally configured with thestorage system 200 (may be installed in the same chassis). As with theaforementioned host computer 100, the management apparatus 110 has thesoftware configuration illustrated in FIG. 3, for example. In addition,the management apparatus 110 includes an application 112 having a GUI(Graphical User Interface), CLI (Command Line Interface) or the like tocontrol or monitor the storage system 200, an OS 111 and a data I/O unit113.

The communications via an internal network 202 are realized according toa protocol such as Fibre Channel, iSCSI and TCP/IP.

Next, the storage system 200 of the present embodiment is describedbelow. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the storage system 200 is configured toinclude a host I/F 201 (first data transfer controller), an internalnetwork 202, a CPU 203, a local memory 204, a DMA 205 (third datatransfer controller), a cache memory 206 (first temporary data storage),a disk I/F 208 (second data transfer controller), a storage apparatus209, and a management I/F 211. Each of the following components may beprovided in multiple units in the storage system 200: the host I/F 201,the internal network 202, the CPU 203, the local memory 204, the DMA205, the cache memory 206, the disk I/F 208, the storage apparatus 209and the management I/F 211.

The cache memory 206 is a memory that temporarily stores datacommunicated between the host computer 100 and the storage device 210and is configured using a RAM that can be accessed at high speed, forexample. Further, in the embodiment, the cache memory 206 internallyincludes a buffer 207 (second temporary data storage device). The buffer207 is used as the storage area that temporarily stores transfer datawhen the host I/F 201 controls data transfer between the host computer100 and the cache memory 207 or when the disk I/F 208 controls datatransfer between the storage apparatus 209 and the cache memory 206 asdescribed later. Here, the buffer 207 may be provided in a hardwarememory other than the cache memory 206. The cache memory 206 can beaccessed via the internal network 202 by the host I/F 201, the CPU 203,the DMA 205 and the disk I/F 208.

The storage apparatus 209 is coupled with the internal network 202 viathe disk I/F 208 and is configured to include multiple storage devices210 (HDD, SSD, flexible disk, magnetic tape, optical disk, and thelike). In the description below, the storage apparatus 209 includes suchas a SAS (Serial Attached SCSI), SATA (Serial ATA), FC (Fiber Channel),PATA (Parallel ATA), or SCSI type HDD or SSD.

The storage apparatus 209 provides a storage area in units of logicaldevices (LDEVs), which is configured by a storage area (for example,storage area of a RAID (Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive (or Independent)Disks) group (Parity Group)) provided by controlling storage devices 210on a control method such as a RAID. Thus, the storage system 200provides the host computer 100 with a logical storage area (LU: LogicalUnit) configured using an LDEV.

The host I/F 201 has a function of executing data transfer between thehost computer 100 and the cache memory 206 or the buffer 207. The hostI/F 201 is coupled with the cache memory 206 or the buffer 207 via theinternal network 202. FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary hardwareconfiguration of the host I/F 201. The host I/F 201 includes: anexternal network interface (hereinafter, “external network I/F 2011”)having a port (network port) to communicate with the host computer 100;a processor 2012; a memory 2013; and an internal network interface(hereinafter, “internal network I/F 2014”) having a port (network port)to communicate with the internal network 202.

The external network I/F 2011 is configured using a NIC (NetworkInterface Card) or HBA (Host Bus Adaptor), for example. The processor2012 is configured using a CPU or MPU (Micro Processing Unit), forexample. The memory 2013 is a RAM, ROM, or the like. The internalnetwork I/F 2014 performs communications via the internal network 202with the CPU 203, the local memory 204, the disk I/F 208, the cachememory 205, and the buffer 207.

The CPU 203 controls sending or reception of data between the hostcomputer 100 and the storage apparatus 209 by controlling variouscomputer programs stored in the local memory 204. FIG. 5 illustrates anexemplary hardware configuration of a CPU 203. The CPU 203 includes aninternal network interface (hereinafter, “internal network I/F 2031”), aprocessor 2032 and a memory 2033. The internal network I/F 2031 performscommunications with the host I/F 201, the disk I/F 208, the local memory204, and the cache memory 206 via the internal network 202. The internalnetwork I/F 2031 performs communications with the management apparatus110 through the management I/F 211 via a management network that is setup in addition to the internal network 202. The processor 2032 is anappropriate arithmetic processor. The memory 2033 is a RAM or ROM and isused as a buffer or the like for the data I/O of the CPU 203.

The local memory 204 is coupled with the CPU 203 and has a function ofstoring instructions or the like given by the CPU 203. The local memory204 includes an interface circuit for coupling the memory such as a RAMand ROM with the CPU 203. FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary configurationof computer programs, data to be stored and the like in the local memory204.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 7, the local memory 204 storestherein computer programs with functions of a data transfer methodmanagement unit 2041 and a data transfer method determination unit 2042that are read and performed by the CPU 203. Further, the local memory204 stores therein data tables and the like such as a host I/F transfertable 300, a disk I/F transfer table 400, a DMA transfer table 500 and adirect transfer flag 600.

The data transfer method management unit 2041 (data transfer controlmanagement unit) provides a data transfer control function of the CPU203 between the host computer 100, the cache memory 206, the buffer 207,and the storage apparatus 209. The data transfer method determinationunit 2042, which configures the data transfer control management unitwith the data transfer method management unit 2041, provides a functionof determining whether the data transfer with the DMA 205 is to beperformed or not.

The host I/F transfer table 300, the disk I/F transfer table 400, andthe DMA transfer table 500 are created on the local memory 204 accordingto the contents of a host I/O request every time the CPU 203 receivesthe host I/O request from the host computer 100. These tables 300, 400,and 500 are described later.

The direct transfer flag 600 is set at ON or OFF by the CPU 203 on thebasis of various transfer conditions included in the host I/O request orthe like. According to the data recorded in the direct transfer flag600, the CPU 203 determines whether the data transfer process with theDMA 205 is to be performed or not. If the direct transfer flag 600 isset at ON, the data transfer process with the DMA 205 is not performed.Although the direct transfer flag 600 is stored in the local memory 204in FIG. 7, the direct transfer flag 600 may be stored in a part of thecache memory 206 or the buffer 207 as long as the CPU 203 can refer tothese memories.

The computer programs and data tables stored in the local memory 204 arenot necessarily prepared in units of blocks illustrated in FIG. 7 and,instead, may be prepared in other ways as long as they realize thefunctions of the embodiments of the present invention described below indetail.

The DMA 205 has a function of executing data transfer between the cachememory 206 and the buffer 207 and has various special functions thatcannot be realized with a general-purpose protocol chip. These specialfunctions of the DMA 205 are described later. The DMA 205 is coupledwith the cache memory 206 and the buffer 207 via the internal network202. An exemplary hardware configuration of the DMA 205 is a custom LSIconfigured to have predetermined data transfer functions including thespecial functions. The DMA 205 can be implemented by other hardwareconfigurations such as a processor.

The disk I/F 208 has a function of executing data transfer between thestorage apparatus 209 and the cache memory 206 or the buffer area 207.The disk I/F 208 is coupled with the cache memory 206 or the buffer 207via the internal network 202. FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary hardwareconfiguration of the disk I/F 208. The disk I/F 208 includes an internalnetwork I/F 2081, a processor 2082, a memory 2083, and a drive interface(hereinafter, the drive I/F 2084). The internal network I/F 2081communicates via the internal network 202 with the host I/F 201, the CPU203, the local memory 204, the cache memory 206, and the buffer 207. Theprocessor 2082 is, for example, a CPU or MPU. The memory 2083 is, forexample, a RAM or ROM. The drive I/F 2084 communicates with the storageapparatus 209. The hardware configurations illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and4 to 6 are merely an example of the embodiment. How the hardwarecomponents are included in the storage system 200 can be determinedflexibly based on the demand from the viewpoint of performance ordesign.

In the embodiment, as explained with FIG. 7, the CPU 203 receiving ahost I/O request from the host computer 100 creates the host I/Ftransfer table 300, the disk I/F transfer table 400 and the DMA transfertable 500 and stores these tables in the local memory 204. Then, thehost I/F 201, the disk I/F 208 and the DMA 205 perform data transferaccording to the information recorded in the transfer tables 300, 400,and 500. The host I/F transfer table 300, the disk I/F transfer table400 and the DMA transfer table 500 are described below in detail.

To begin with, the host I/F transfer table 300 is described below. FIG.8 illustrates an exemplary configuration of the host I/F transfer table300 storing therein the control information that the host I/F 201 refersto and uses when I/F 201 transfers data as described later. The host I/Ftransfer table 300 is created by the CPU 203 on the basis of the hostI/O request received from the host computer 100. Then, the host I/F 201performs data transfer on the basis of the information stored in thehost I/F transfer table 300. Although the host I/F transfer table 300 isstored in the local memory 204 in FIG. 7, the host I/F transfer table300 may be stored in a part of the cache memory 206 or the buffer 207 aslong as the CPU 203 can refer to these memories.

The pieces of information stored in the host I/F transfer table 300 aredescribed in turn below. A transfer length 301 stores therein a lengthof data to be transferred by the host I/F 201.

Transfer type information 302 stores therein information as to whetherthe data transfer process using the host I/F transfer table 300 is awriting process to the buffer 207 or the cache memory 206 from the hostcomputer 100 or a reading process from the buffer 207 or the cachememory 206 to the host computer 100. Further, the transfer typeinformation 302 stores therein a determination flag or the like as towhether the special I/O process using a function available to the hostI/F 201 is performed.

A data storage source address 303 stores therein address information ofthe cache memory 206 or the buffer 207 storing data that is accessed bythe I/O process if the host I/O request from the host computer 100 is areading process.

A data storage destination address 304 stores therein addressinformation of the cache memory 206 or the buffer 207 storing the datathat is accessed by the I/O process if the host I/O request from thehost computer 100 is a writing process.

A status return destination address 305 stores therein addressinformation of the local memory 204 to which the host I/F 201 sendsback, after the data transfer process is finished, the statusinformation indicating the completion of the transfer in order to notifythe CPU 203 of the completion of the data transfer.

A error detection code appending flag 306 (information indicating adetermination result as to whether or not to append a error detectioncode) stores therein information as to whether the error detection codethat can be appended by the host I/F 201 needs to be appended or not.The information as to whether the error detection code needs to beappended or not may be determined by the CPU 203 on the basis of thecontents of the host I/O request and may be stored, for example, in aformat of an ON or OFF flag. The error detection code is a code that isappended, when data is written from the host computer 100 to the storageapparatus 209, to the original data in order to check the consistency inreading the same data. For example, a possible method is that the 8-byteerror detection code is appended to the data that is read or written in512-byte units.

A error detection code setting value 307 stores therein a setting valueof the error detection code appended by the host I/F 201 if the errordetection code appending flag 306 is set at ON.

A error detection code checking flag 308 (information indicating whetheror not to check a error detection code) stores therein information as towhether the error detection code that can be checked by the host I/F 201needs to be checked or not if the host I/O request from the hostcomputer 100 is a reading process. The information as to whether theerror detection code check is needed or not is determined by the CPU 203on the basis of the contents of the host I/O request and is stored, forexample, in a format of an ON or OFF flag. A error detection codeexpectation value 309 stores therein the expectation value of the errordetection code that is used for the checking by the host I/F 201 if theerror detection code checking flag 308 is set at ON. The informationstored in the host I/F transfer table 300 is not limited to informationillustrated in FIG. 8.

Next, the disk I/F transfer table 400 is described below. FIG. 9illustrates an exemplary configuration of the disk I/F transfer table400 storing therein the control information that the disk I/F 208 refersto and uses when the disk I/F 208 transfers data as described below. Thedisk I/F transfer table 400 is created by the CPU 203 on the basis ofthe host I/O request received from the host computer 100. The disk I/F208 performs data transfer on the basis of the information recorded inthe disk I/F transfer table 400. Although the disk I/F transfer table400 is stored in the local memory 204 in FIG. 7, the disk I/F transfertable 400 may be stored in a part of the cache memory 206 or the buffer207 as long as the CPU 203 can refer to these memories.

The pieces of information stored in the disk I/F transfer table 400 aredescribed in turn below. Firstly, a transfer length 401 stores therein alength of data to be transferred by the disk I/F 208.

Transfer type information 402 stores therein information as to whether adata transfer process performed by the disk I/F 208 using the disk I/Ftransfer table 400 is a writing process from the buffer 207 or the cachememory 206 to the storage apparatus 209 or is a reading process from thestorage apparatus 209 to the buffer 207 or the cache memory 206.Further, the transfer type information stores therein a determinationflag or the like as to whether the special I/O process using a functionavailable to the disk I/F 208 is performed.

A data storage source address 403 stores therein address information ofthe cache memory 206 or the buffer 207 storing data that is accessed bythe I/O process if the host I/O request from the host computer 100 is awriting process, and stores therein address information of the storageapparatus 209 storing data that is accessed by the I/O process if thehost I/O request from the host computer 100 is a reading process.

A data storage destination address 404 stores therein addressinformation of the storage apparatus 209 storing data that is accessedby the I/O process if the host I/O request from the host computer 100 isa writing process, and stores therein address information of the cachememory 206 or the buffer 207 storing data that is accessed by the I/Oprocess if the host I/O request from the host computer 100 is a readingprocess.

A status return destination address 405 stores therein addressinformation of the local memory 204 to which the disk I/F 208 sendsback, after the data transfer process is finished, the statusinformation indicating the completion of the transfer in order to notifythe CPU 203 of the completion of the data transfer.

A error detection code appending flag 406 (information indicating adetermination result as to whether or not to append a error detectioncode) stores therein information as to whether the error detection codethat can be appended by the host I/F 201 needs to be appended or not.The information as to whether the error detection code needs to beappended or not is dealt in the same way as that described for the hostI/F transfer table 300. A error detection code setting value 407 storestherein a setting value of the error detection code appended by the diskI/F 208 if the error detection code appending flag 406 is set at ON.

A error detection code checking flag 408 (information indicating whetheror not to check a error detection code) stores therein information as towhether the error detection code that can be checked by the disk I/F 208needs to be checked or not, as in the case of the host I/F transfertable 300. The error detection code expectation value 409 stores thereinan expectation value of the error detection code that is used for thechecking by the disk I/F 208 if the error detection code checking flag408 is set at ON. The information stored in the disk I/F transfer table400 is not limited to the information illustrated in FIG. 9.

Next, the DMA transfer table 500 is described below. FIG. 10 illustratesan exemplary configuration of the DMA transfer table 500 storing thereinthe control information that the DMA 205 refers to and uses when the DMA205 transfers data as described below. The DMA transfer table 500 iscreated by the CPU 203 on the basis of the host I/O request receivedfrom the host computer 100. The DMA 205 performs the data transfer withreference to the information stored in the DMA transfer table 500.Although the DMA transfer table 500 is stored in the local memory 204 inFIG. 7, the DMA transfer table 500 may be stored in such as a part ofthe cache memory 206 and the buffer 207 as long as the CPU 203 can referto these memories.

The pieces of information stored in the DMA transfer table 500 aredescribed in turn below. Firstly, a transfer length 501 stores therein alength of data to be transferred.

Transfer type information 502 stores therein information as to whether adata transfer process performed by the DMA 205 based on DMA transfertable 500 is a data transfer process from the buffer 207 to the cachememory 206 or is a data transfer process from the cache memory 206 tothe buffer 207. Further the transfer type information 502 stores thereina determination flag or the like as to whether the special I/O processusing a function available to the DMA 205 is performed.

A data storage source address 503 stores therein address information ofthe cache memory 206 or the buffer 207 storing data that is accessed bythe I/O process.

A data storage destination address 504 stores therein addressinformation of the cache memory 206 or the buffer 207 storing data thatis accessed by the I/O process.

A status return destination address 505 stores therein addressinformation of the local memory 204 to which the DMA 205 sends back,after the data transfer process is finished, the status informationindicating the completion of the transfer in order to notify the CPU 203of the completion of the data transfer.

A error detection code appending flag 506 (information indicating adetermination result as to whether or not to append a error detectioncode) stores therein information as to whether the error detection codethat can be appended to the I/O process data by the DMA 205 needs to beappended or not. The information as to whether the error detection codeneeds to be appended or not is determined, as in the case of the hostI/F transfer table 300, by the CPU 203 on the basis of the contents ofthe host I/O request and is stored, for example, in a format of an ON orOFF sign.

A error detection code setting value 507 stores therein a setting valueof the error detection code that is appended by the DMA 205 in a casewhere the error detection code appending flag 506 is set at ON.

A error detection code checking flag 508 (information indicating whetheror not to check a error detection code) stores therein information as towhether the error detection code that can be checked by the DMA 205needs to be checked or not. A error detection code expectation value 509stores therein an expectation value of the error detection code to bechecked by the DMA 205 if the error detection code checking flag 508 isset at ON.

A bitmap staging flag 510 (information indicating whether or not toperform a bitmap staging process) stores therein information as towhether the bitmap staging process is to be performed or not. A bitmasksetting value 511 stores therein bitmask information that is used formasking the staging data if the bitmap staging flag 510 is set at ON. Apattern detection process flag 512 (information indicating whether ornot to perform a pattern detection process) stores therein informationas to whether a pattern detection process is to be performed or not. Thebitmask staging process and the pattern detection process are describedlater. The information stored in the DMA transfer table 500 is notlimited to those illustrated in FIG. 10.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary status where the host I/F transfertable 300, the disk I/F transfer table 400 and the DMA transfer table500 are stored in the local memory 204 as the transfer information. Asdescribed above, the CPU 203 creates the host I/F transfer table 300,the disk I/F transfer table 400, or the DMA transfer table 500 everytime receiving a host I/O request from the host computer 100. Therefore,the local memory 204 is configured to be capable of storing therein aplurality of transfer tables, for example, host I/F transfer tables 300a, 300 b and 300 c. In FIG. 11, the local memory 204 stores therein thehost I/F transfer tables 300 a, 300 b and 300 c, disk I/F transfertables 400 a, 400 b and 400 c, DMA transfer tables 500 a, 500 b and 500c, and direct transfer flags 600 a, 600 b and 600 c.

Next, the data transfer method of the present embodiment, which isperformed for data transfer among the host computer 100, the cachememory 206 or the buffer 207 and the storage apparatus 209, is describedbelow with reference to example processes in the figures. FIG. 12illustrates an exemplary schematic diagram of a data transfer method(hereinafter, “direct transfer (direct data transfer)”) with which datais directly transferred from the storage apparatus 209 to the cachememory 206. The direct transfer shown in FIG. 12 is performed by thedisk I/F 208. Although FIG. 12 illustrates data transfer (hereinafter,“staging”) 701 from the storage apparatus 209 to the cache memory 206 asan example, a data transfer process with the direct transfer can beperformed in either of the cases of data transfer (hereinafter,“destage”) from the cache memory 206 to the storage apparatus 209, anddata transfer between the host computer 100 and the cache memory 206.

Meanwhile, FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary schematic diagram of a datatransfer method (hereinafter, “two-step transfer”) with which data readfrom the storage apparatus 209 is first stored in the buffer 207 insidethe cache memory 206 and then transferred by the DMA 205 to the cachememory 206. The two-step transfer illustrated in FIG. 13 is performed bythe DMA 205 and the disk I/F 208. FIG. 13 illustrates, as an example, adata transfer process combining data transfer 801 from the storageapparatus 209 to the buffer 207 and data transfer 802 from the buffer207 to the cache memory 206. In addition, the two-step transfer may beperformed for any one of the following combinations of data transfer: acombination of the data transfer from the cache memory 206 to the buffer207 and data transfer from the buffer 207 to the storage apparatus 209,a combination of the data transfer from the host computer 100 to thebuffer 207 and the data transfer from the buffer 207 and the cachememory 206, and a combination of the data transfer from the cache memory206 to the buffer 207 and the data transfer from the buffer 207 to thehost computer 100. In the present embodiment, the buffer 207, which is atemporary data storage area for the two-step transfer, is set in a partof a storage area of the cache memory 206. Therefore, the term “cachememory 206” used alone in the present specification indicates a storagearea of the cache memory 206 other than the storage area used as thebuffer 207.

The following describes in detail a data transfer method selectionprocess for determining which data transfer method to use between thedirect transfer and the two-step transfer as the data transfer methodfor the I/O process to be performed according to the host I/O requestfrom the host computer 100.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart schematically illustrating the data transfermethod selection process. The present embodiment is described withreference to the flow chart of FIG. 14 below. Note that, the flow chartshown in FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary data transfer method selectionprocess. Therefore, the selection process flow of the data transfermethod is not limited to that illustrated in FIG. 14. For example, FIG.14 uses a dedicated flag (direct transfer flag 600 stored in the localmemory 204) to determine whether the direct transfer is performed ornot. However, the determination as to whether the direct transfer isperformed or not is not limited to the method using the direct transferflag 600. For example, determinations may be independently performed insubroutines S901 and S902, and the decision as to whether the directtransfer is to be performed or not may be determined on the basis ofthese determination results. Upon receipt of the host I/O request by theCPU 203, this data transfer selection process is performed by the datatransfer method management unit 2041 implemented by the CPU 203.Hereinafter, the sign “S” stands for step.

To begin with, the data transfer method management unit 2041 accessesthe local memory 204 and sets the direct transfer flag 600 at ON (S900).Instead of setting the flag by the data transfer method management unit2041, the initial value of the direct transfer flag 600 may be set atON. When it is determined to use the two-step transfer during theprocesses following S901, the direct transfer flag 600 is changed fromON to OFF.

In the subroutine S901 of the data transfer method selection process, itis determined whether the I/O process to be performed according to theinstruction of the host computer 100 is executable on the directtransfer or not (i.e., whether the special function of the DMA 205 isnecessary or not). When it is determined that the direct transfer isexecutable, as a result of the determination process, the directtransfer flag is set to OFF. In a case where the determination isperformed at the subroutine S902, the process to determine whetherdirect transfer is executable or not (hereinafter, referred to as a“direct transfer check process”) may not be performed.

Next, in the subroutine S902, it is determined whether or not the datatransfer process for the I/O process performed according to theinstruction of the host computer 100 can be performed at faster speed onthe direct transfer than on the two-step transfer. When it is determinedthat the determination process can be performed at higher speed on thetwo-step transfer, the direct transfer flag 600 is set to OFF. In theother cases than the above, the direct transfer flag 600 is not changed.Note that, in a case where the determination process is performed at thesubroutine S901, the determination process of S902 may be omitted. Whenit is determined that the direct transfer is not executable at S901, theprocess at S902 may be skipped.

On the basis of the results of the determination processes performed atthe subroutines S901 and S902, the data transfer method is selected(S903). When the direct transfer flag 600 is set at ON as the results ofthe determination processes at S901 and S902 (S903, Yes), the directtransfer is performed (S904). When the direct transfer flag 600 is setat OFF (S903, No), the two-step transfer is performed (S905).

FIG. 15 illustrates another exemplary configuration of the data transfermethod selection process flow shown in FIG. 14. In FIG. 15, thesubroutine S901 corresponding to the process to determine whether directtransfer is executable or not is configured of a combination of multipledetermination processes S901 a to S901 c. The determination process atthe subroutine S902 may not be dependent on a single determinationprocess. Instead, the determination process may be dependent on resultsof a plurality of speedup check processes, and a transfer method thatmakes the data transfer process the fastest from a comprehensiveviewpoint may be selected.

The following describes details of the direct transfer check processthat is performed at the subroutine S901 in FIG. 14. FIG. 16 illustratesan exemplary subroutine S901 to select a data transfer method on thebasis of the necessity of the appending/checking of the error detectioncode. The process at S901 of the present embodiment is described belowwith reference to the flow chart of FIG. 16. The direct transfer checkprocess may be performed by the data transfer method determination unit2041 realized by the CPU 203.

An example of an I/O process for which it is determined that the directtransfer is executable at the determination process of the subroutineS901 is an I/O process that involves the DMA 205 appending or checkingthe special data error detection code that is hard to append or checkwith a general-purpose protocol chip.

For example, a case using a SATA HDD may not be sufficiently reliablefor a storage system storing therein extremely important data. Thus,when the data transfer destination device or data transfer source deviceis a SATA HDD, two-step transfer is adopted in order to append/check thedata error detection code by use of the DMA 205. When the data transferdestination device or data transfer source device is an FC HDD or SASHDD, the direct transfer can be adopted because, withoutappending/checking of such a special data error detection code, asufficient reliability can be secured by only using a error detectioncode that can be appended/checked using a general-purpose protocol chip.

Further, a transfer method may be selected on the basis of an extent ofreliability or the like demanded for the information processing system 1including the storage system 200. For example, when throughputperformance of data transfer is demanded more than reliability of thedata itself, the throughput performance of a system can be increased byadopting the direct transfer even if the transfer destination device ortransfer source device is a SATA HDD. In contrast, when reliability ofthe data itself is demanded more than throughput performance, thereliability of a system can be enhanced adopting two-step transfer inorder to append/check a data error detection code even if the device isa FC HDD or SAS HDD.

Referring to the exemplary process flow in FIG. 16, the data transfermethod determination unit 2042 first determines whether a special errordetection code that is performed by the DMA 205 (hereinafter, “specialerror detection code”) needs to be appended/checked (S1000). Thenecessity of the appending/checking of the special error detection codeis determined on the basis of the storage device type information of atransfer destination/source to be set in the transfer type information302, 402, and 502.

If it is determined that the appending/checking of the special errordetection code is unnecessary at S1000 (S1000, No), the data transfermethod determination unit 2042 sets the error detection code appendingflag 506 or the error detection code checking flag 508 to OFF in the DMAtransfer table 500 (S1001). In this case, the direct transfer flag 600is not changed.

If it is determined that the appending/checking of the special errordetection code is necessary (S1000, Yes), the data transfer methoddetermination unit 2042 sets the direct transfer flag 600 to OFF (S1002)and sets the error detection code appending flag 506 or the errordetection code checking flag 508 to ON in the DMA transfer table 500(S1003).

After the process above is completed, the data transfer methoddetermination unit 2042 sets the expectation value of the created errordetection code or the error detection code for checking to the errordetection code setting value 507 or the error detection code expectationvalue 509 stored in the DMA transfer table 500. Then, the data transfermethod determination unit 2042 appends/checks, upon data transfer withthe DMA 205, the special error detection code on the basis of thecontents set in the DMA transfer table 500.

Note that, the error detection code that is appended/checked in the flowchart of FIG. 16 is not limited to a single error detection code. Forexample, when two types of error detection codes are applied, the datatransfer method determination unit 2042 may continuously determinewhether the appending/checking of each code is necessary or not.

The error detection code may include both a general-purpose errordetection code that can be appended/checked with a protocol chip and aspecial error detection code that can be checked with the DMA 205. Forexample, if an 8-byte error detection code is to be appended to each512-byte data, the special error detection code is appended to the mostsignificant byte by the DMA 205 while a different error detection codeis appended to the remaining 7 bytes by a protocol chip.

An example of another I/O process for which it is determined that thedirect data transfer is not executable at the determination of thesubroutine S901 in FIG. 14 is a process in which a specific pattern indata is detected by the DMA 205 (hereinafter, “pattern detectionprocess”). If it is necessary to perform the pattern detection process,the two-step transfer with the DMA 205 is performed. If not necessary,the direct transfer with the CPU 203 is performed. The pattern detectionprocess for data stored in the storage system is, for example, ade-duplication process for eliminating duplicated data, or a zero datadetection process for detecting a part where no data is written (spaceor null) or a part that is filled with zero data in the storage device.

FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary subroutine S901 of FIG. 14 that isperformed by the data transfer method determination unit 2042 to selecta data transfer method on the basis of a check result of a patterndetection process. The process at S901 of the present embodiment isdescribed below with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. 17.

The data transfer method determination unit 2042 determines whether thepattern detection process needs to be performed or not (S1100). Whetherthe pattern detection process needs to be performed or not isdetermined, for example, on the basis of the host I/O request includingan instruction from the host computer 100.

If it is determined at step S1100 that the execution of the patterndetection process is unnecessary (S1100, No), the data transfer methoddetermination unit 2042 sets the pattern detection process flag 512 toOFF in the DMA transfer table 500 (S1101). In this case, the directtransfer flag 600 is not changed.

If it is determined at step S1100 that the execution of the patterndetection process is necessary (S1100, Yes), the data transfer methoddetermination unit 2042 sets the direct transfer flag 600 to OFF (S1102)and sets the pattern detection process flag 512 to ON in the DMAtransfer table 500 (S1103). After the process above is completed, theDMA 205 performs a pattern detection process at an arbitrary timing.

The following describes an example of another I/O process for which itis determined that the direct transfer is not executable in thedetermination process of the subroutine S901. In this example of“another I/O process,” the two-step transfer is performed in case of adual writing to the cache memory 206 (hereinafter, “cache dual writing”)while the direct transfer is performed when the cache dual writing isnot necessary.

In order to perform the cache dual writing on the direct transfer, theprotocol chips executing the data transfer need to perform data transferto a plurality of addresses of the cache memory 206. Since ageneral-purpose protocol chip has no function of setting a plurality oftransfer destination addresses in many cases, the two-step transfer ofthe DMA 205 needs to be performed to realize the cache dual writing.

FIG. 18 illustrates an exemplary schematic diagram of the cache dualwriting. The diagram shows how data is transferred from the hostcomputer 100 to the cache memory 206. In the example illustrated in FIG.18, the cache dual writing is performed when data 1200 is transferredfrom the host computer 100 to the cache memory 206, so that data isduplicated and written to the cache memory 206 and the reliability ofthe system is improved. The destination of the data dual writing iseither a different address of the same cache memory 206 or an address ofa different cache memory 206 on a hardware level.

FIG. 19 illustrates another exemplary schematic diagram of the cachedual writing. The diagram shows how data is transferred from the storagedevice 210 to the cache memory 206. The case requiring cache dualwriting in FIG. 19 is further described below with reference to FIGS. 20and 21.

FIGS. 20 and 21 are schematic diagrams showing destage processes ofdirty data 1300 a and 1300 b in the cache memory 206 in the storagesystem including storage devices 210 (210 a and 210 b) based on RAID1.The dirty data is data stored in the cache memory 206 and is not yetwritten to the storage apparatus 209 (storage device 210).

FIG. 20 illustrates a schematic diagram showing a data flow in a casewhere the dirty data 1300 a and 1300 b are destaged individually intothe storage device 210 a and the storage device 210 b. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 20, the number of accesses to the storage devices210 a and the 210 b is four in total.

Meanwhile, in FIG. 21, the CPU 203 checks the state of the cache memory206 before executing the destage and checks if the spaces among thedirty data, targeted for destage, can be compensated by staging. If thespace between the dirty data 1300 a and 1300 b can be compensated, data1301 between the dirty data 1300 a and 1300 b is staged from the storagedevice 210, and then the dirty data 1300 a and 1300 b and the stageddata 1301 are collectively destaged as shown in FIG. 21. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 21, the number of accesses to the storage device 210a and 210 b is three in total. Accordingly, the number of accesses tothe storage devices 210 a and 210 b can be reduced as compared with theexample illustrated in FIG. 20.

In a case where there is a failure in the cache memory 206 a, thefunction illustrated in FIG. 20 becomes unavailable. Therefore, thecache dual writing is performed to the cache memories 206 a and 206 b.

FIG. 22 illustrates an example of the subroutine S901 of FIG. 14 wherethe data transfer method is selected on the basis of the determinationas to whether the execution of the cache dual writing process isnecessary or not. The processes at the subroutine S901 in the presentembodiment are described with reference to the flow chart of FIG. 22.

The data transfer method determination unit 2042 determines whether theexecution of the cache dual writing process is necessary (S1400).Whether the cache dual writing needs to be performed or not isdetermined, for example, on the basis of the information that is set asthe transfer type information 502 in the DMA transfer table 500.

If it is determined that the execution of the cache dual writing isunnecessary at S1400 (S1400, No), the data transfer method determinationunit 2042 ends the process without changing the direct transfer flag600.

If it is determined at S1400 that the execution of the cache dualwriting process is necessary (S1400, Yes), the data transfer methoddetermination unit 2042 sets the direct transfer flag 600 to OFF(S1401).

After the process above is completed, data is staged into the addressesof the two cache memories 206 described in the data storage destinationaddresses in the DMA transfer table 500.

Next, the determination process performed at the subroutine S902 of FIG.14 is described in detail.

In subroutine 902, an example of the case where the I/O process isdetermined to be made faster by adopting the two-step transfer processis a case where data to be staged is masked upon staging of the datafrom the storage apparatus 209 to the cache memory 206 in order thatdirty data stored in the cache memory 206 may not be overwritten withthe staging data. Such a process is referred to as “bitmap staging,”hereinafter.

FIG. 23 illustrates an exemplary schematic diagram of a data flow in acase where the staging is performed on the direct transfer without usingthe bitmap staging. As illustrated in FIG. 23, a case is consideredwhere the cache segment 1500 on the cache memory 206 stores thereindirty data 1501 a and 1501 b, and data staging is performed for an areaincluding the area with the dirty data 1501 a and 1501 b on the cachesegment 1500.

When the data is staged on the direct transfer, the staging needs to beperformed in a manner such that the area storing the dirty data 1501 aand 1501 b is avoided and not overwritten. Accordingly, plural times ofan I/O process needs to be performed for the storage device 210. In theexample of FIG. 23, the staging data 1502, 1503 and 1504 need to beindependently staged from the storage device 210. In general, the I/Operformance of the storage device 210 is three to four orders ofmagnitude lower than that of main memory. Thus, the data I/O process tothe storage device 210 in such case becomes a bottleneck and there isfear that this would lead to a reduction in the system performance.

FIG. 24 illustrates an exemplary schematic diagram of a data flow in acase where staging to the cache memory 206 is performed on the two-steptransfer with the bitmap staging. As illustrated in FIG. 24, a bitmask1602 is created from the bitmap indicating the location of the dirtydata 1601 a and 1601 b inside the cache segment 1600 to be staged, andthen the data 1603, which is obtained by applying the bitmask 1602 tothe data 1601 read from the storage device 210, is staged into the cachesegment 1600 of the cache memory 206. As a result, the number of I/Oprocesses to the storage device 210 can be minimized, and the systemthroughput can be increased.

FIG. 25 illustrates an exemplary subroutine S902 of FIG. 14 that isperformed to select a data transfer method on the basis of thedetermination result as to whether the execution of the bitmap stagingprocess is necessary or not. The subroutine S902 of the presentembodiment is described below with reference to the flow chartillustrated in FIG. 25.

The data transfer method determination unit 2042 determines whether thehost I/O request from the host computer 100 is a staging process or not(S1700). The type of the host I/O request from the host computer 100 isdetermined, for example, on the basis of the transfer type information302 that is set in the host I/F transfer table 300.

If it is determined that the contents of the host I/O request from thehost computer 100 are not a staging request (S1700, No), the bitmapstaging process is not performed. Thus, the process S902 is finished atthis moment in this case. If it is determined that the content of thehost I/O request from the host computer 100 is a staging request (S1700,Yes), the data transfer method determination unit 2042, which isrealized by the CPU 203, checks the state of the address range in thecache memory 206 for which the stating process is to be performed andthen creates the bitmap for the address range (S1701). The bitmap may becreated in advance at any suitable timing before the execution of S1701.Next, the data transfer method determination unit 2042 determineswhether the execution of the bitmap staging process is necessary or noton the basis of the bitmap created at S1701 (S1702).

If it is determined at S1702 that the execution of the bitmap stagingprocess is unnecessary (S1702, No), the data transfer methoddetermination unit 2042 sets the bitmap staging flag 510 to OFF in theDMA transfer table 500 (S1703). In this case, the direct transfer flag600 is not changed.

If it is determined at S1702 that the execution of the bitmap stagingprocess is necessary (S1702, Yes), the data transfer methoddetermination unit 2042 sets the direct transfer flag 600 to OFF (S1704)and sets the bitmap staging flag 510 to ON (S1705) in the DMA transfertable 500. On the basis of the bitmap created at S1701, the datatransfer method determination unit 2042 creates a bitmask and sets thesame in the bitmask setting value 511 in the DMA transfer table 500(S1706).

After the process above is completed, the bitmask setting value 511 inthe DMA transfer table 500 is applied to mask the data within theaddress range to be staged, and the staging is performed by the DMA 205.

Further, the necessity of the execution of the bitmap staging processmay be determined on the basis of the load on the cache memory 206 andthe buffer 207, the I/O performance of the storage device 210 and thelike. For example, in a situation where the load on the cache memory 206is very heavy, the execution of the bitmap staging process on thetwo-step transfer may provide lower throughput performance than thestaging on the direct transfer. In such a case, a configuration can bemade so that the direct transfer may be performed regardless of whetherthe dirty data is stored in the cache segment for the staging or not. Inactual operation, a threshold for the load on the cache memory 206 canbe set beforehand and used in the following configuration, for example.If the load on the cache memory 206 is equal to or below the threshold,whether the bitmap staging process is needed or not is performednormally in the manner described above. If the load on the cache memory206 is above the threshold for the cache memory 206, the bitmap stagingflag 510 is always set to OFF.

If the storage device 210 for staging is a device, such as an SSD, thatcan achieve a high speed I/O process in a situation even when the memoryload is not very heavy, the time taken for executing an I/O process ondirect data transfer for the storage device 210 a plurality of times ispossibly shorter than the period of time taken for the bitmap stagingprocess on the two-step transfer. In such a case, the direct transfer isperformed without the bitmap staging process.

In the present embodiment, the memory area or bandwidth allocated in thebuffer 207 may be increased or decreased depending on the processing inexecution, the state of the storage system 200 and the like. Forexample, if a large portion of a data transfer method is direct transferand some of the capacity and bandwidth allocated in the buffer 207 arenot in use, less capacity and bandwidth may be allocated to the buffer207 while the free capacity and bandwidth, obtained by allocating lesscapacity and bandwidth, may be allocated to the cache memory 206 toincrease the I/O performance. FIG. 26 is a schematic diagramillustrating how a part of the capacity and bandwidth of the buffer 207is allocated to the cache memory 206.

In contrast, if some of capacity and bandwidth allocated to the cachememory 206 are not in use, more capacity and bandwidth may be allocatedto the buffer 207 from the cache memory 206 to increase the I/Operformance similarly. FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram illustrating how apart of the area and capacity of the cache memory 206 is allocated tothe buffer 207.

The storage system 200 may be configured in a manner such that thesedata transfer method selection processes are automatically performed inaccordance with a determination method previously set when the storagesystem 200 is designed. Alternatively, the management apparatus 110 maynotify, via the management I/F 211, the storage system 200 (the datatransfer method management unit 2401 that is realized by the CPU 203 inparticular) of the determination method being set by a systemadministrator on the basis of conditions such as I/O performance,reliability and the like, so that the determination method is applied.

The following describes an exemplary method of changing the referencefor selecting the data transfer method in response to an instructionfrom the management apparatus 110.

FIG. 28 illustrates an exemplary table storing therein informationserving as the reference for selecting a data transfer method(hereinafter, “transfer method selection reference table”). To beginwith, the CPU 203 creates a transfer method selection reference table1800 in advance and stores the same in a non-volatile storage area suchas the storage device 210. When the power of the storage system 200 isturned on, the CPU 203 (e.g., the data transfer method management unit2401) reads the transfer method selection reference table 1800 andstores the same in the storage area such as the local memory 204 thatcan be accessed by the CPU 203. Upon receipt of an instruction from themanagement apparatus 110, the CPU 203 rewrites, according to theinstruction from the management apparatus 110, special error detectioncode application device information 1801 or the like stored in thetransfer method selection reference table 1800. At the time of datatransfer, the data transfer method management unit 2401 refers to thetransfer method selection reference table 1800 and then creates the hostI/F transfer table 300, the disk I/F transfer table 400 or the DMAtransfer table 500. When the power is turned off, the data transfermethod management unit 2401, which is realized by CPU 203, stores thetransfer method selection reference table 1800 in a non-volatile storagearea such as the storage device 210.

The transfer method selection reference table 1800 may store therein thefollowing pieces of information such as: the special error detectioncode application device information 1801, which is informationindicating device types for which it is determined that theappending/checking of the special error detection code is necessary atS1000 in FIG. 16; pattern detection process flag 1802 indicating whetherthe pattern detection process in FIG. 17 is to be performed or not orwhich pattern detection process is to be performed; and the bitmapstaging execution threshold information 1803 indicating a threshold forthe load on the cache memory 206 determining that the bitmap staging isunnecessary at S1702 in FIG. 25.

Second Embodiment

Next, the second embodiment of the present invention is described withreference to FIGS. 29 to 31.

In the first embodiment, the embodiment of the present invention isrealized with the single storage system 200. On the other hand, thesecond embodiment relates to the I/O processes performed among multiplestorage systems 200.

Note that, the second embodiment is a variation of the first embodiment.Thus, the following describes the configuration of the second embodimentwhile focusing on the difference between the second embodiment and thefirst embodiment.

FIG. 29 illustrates a configuration of an information system 1 of thesecond embodiment. The configuration shown in FIG. 29 illustrates anoutline of the present invention to an extent that the present inventioncan be understood and realized. The scope of the present invention isnot limited to the configuration illustrated in FIG. 29.

The host computer 100 is mutually coupled with the storage systems 200 aand 200 b via the communication network 121 such as a SAN (Storage AreaNetwork). The management apparatus 110 is mutually coupled with thestorage system 200 a and 200 b via the communication network 122 such asa LAN (Local Area Network). In FIG. 29, the host I/F 201 a performs, inaddition to the functions illustrated in the first embodiment, datatransfer with the storage system 201 b that is mutually coupledtherewith via the communication network 121. Similarly, the host I/F 201b included in the storage system 200 b performs, in addition to thefunctions illustrated in the first embodiment, data transfer with thestorage system 201 a that is mutually coupled therewith via thecommunication network 121. The functions of the other components in FIG.29 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and therefore thedescriptions of these functions are omitted below.

The number of the storage systems 200, coupled with the communicationnetworks 121 and 122, may be three or more. In addition, when theinformation system 1 is configured as illustrated in FIG. 29 in thesecond embodiment, the I/O processes in the storage system 200 a or 200b may adopt any of the methods described in the first embodiment.

The second embodiment is described below with reference to a flow chartin FIG. 14 of the first embodiment. When data is copied between thestorage systems 200 a and 200 b for data backup purpose (hereinafter,this data copy is referred as a “remote copy”), a error detection codeneeds to be appended to the transfer data in order to detect or correcterrors in the data transfer between the storage systems 200 a and 200 b.For example, as an operation form of an actual storage system,considered is a case where, when a new model of a storage product is tobe installed, an old model of the same series may be used as a backupstorage and the like. In this case, a error detection code supported bya general-purpose protocol chip of the new model is not always supportedby a general-purpose protocol chip of the old model. Therefore, a uniqueerror detection code which doesn't dependent on a general-purposeprotocol chip needs to be used.

In the present embodiment, when a remote copy is performed between theseparate storage systems 200 a and 200 b, and the remote copy isperformed between the storage systems 200 a and 200 b having the hostI/Fs 201 of the same configuration, the direct transfer can be performedbetween the storage systems 200 a and 200 b by employing the errordetection code that can be appended and checked by the respective hostI/Fs 201. Accordingly, as described above, in the case that the sameerror detection code can be used by a pair of the storage systems 200 aand 200 b using the same host I/Fs 201, the direct transfer can beperformed between the storage systems 200 a and 200 b to reduce a loadon the memory, and in the other cases, the two-step transfer can beperformed between the storage systems 200 a and 200 b. In order to use asame error detection code with DMAs 205 a or 205 b in both new and oldstorage systems 200 a and 200 b, two-step transfer is performed usingthe DMAs 205 a and 205 b. In this case, the system is configured in amanner such that it is determined that that direct transfer is notexecutable, in the determination process at the subroutine S901 in FIG.14.

FIG. 30 illustrates an exemplary remote copy control information table1900 storing therein the transfer information used for the remote copy.To perform the remote copy, the CPU 203 refers to the remote copycontrol information table 1900 and performs data transfer.

The remote copy control information table 1900 is stored in a storagearea that the CPU 203 can refer to in the local memory 204 or the like.Transfer destination storage system information 1901 stores thereininformation on the storage systems 200 a and 200 b of the transferdestination. Paired logical unit management information 1902 storestherein information of paired logical units, which are a logical unit inthe storage system of the transfer source and a logical unit in thestorage system of the transfer destination.

FIG. 31 illustrates an exemplary subroutine S901 of FIG. 14 performed toselect a data transfer method on the basis of copy destination addressinformation upon the remote copy. The processes of S901 in the secondembodiment are described below with reference to a flow chart in FIG.31.

A data transfer method determination unit 2042 realized by the CPU 203determines, based on the copy destination address information includedin the host I/O request from the host computer 100, whether theexecution of a remote copy between the storage systems 200 a and 200 bis necessary or not (S2000).

If it is determined at step S2000 that the execution of the remote copybetween the storage systems 200 a and 200 b is unnecessary (S2000, No),the process is completed at this moment and the direct transfer flag 600is not changed.

Meanwhile, if it is determined at step S2000 that the execution of theremote copy between the storage systems 200 a and 200 b is necessary(S2000, Yes), the data transfer method determination unit 2042 sets thedirect transfer flag 600 to OFF (S2001), and sets the error detectioncode in the remote copy destination storage system (S2002). The errordetection code is stored, for example, in the DMA transfer table 500.When the remote copy is performed in the actual operation, the DMA 205 aor 205 b refers to the error detection code and appends the errordetection code.

As described in detail above, according to the embodiment of the presentinvention, the direct transfer or the two-step transfer is selecteddepending on determination result on the necessity of a data processinvolved in the data transfer in the storage system 200, e.g., thenecessity of appending/checking and the like of a special errordetection code, and determination result as to whether the process forspeeding up the data I/O process, such as a bitmap staging is executableor not. Thus, the performance of data I/O process can be improved evenwhen the performance of the storage device 210 and hardware resourcessuch as the capacity and the like of the cache memory 206 are limited.Furthermore, even when the remote copy process is performed between twoor more storage systems 200, the direct transfer or the two-steptransfer is selected similarly to a case where a single storage system200 is used. Thus, the performance of data I/O process can be improved.

Note that, the present invention is not limited to the first embodimentor the second embodiment described above and includes variousvariations. For example, the embodiments above aim to describe thepresent invention in a detailed and comprehensive way. Accordingly, allthe components described in the embodiments are not necessarilyrequired. In addition, a part of the configuration of one embodiment mayreplace a configuration of another embodiment. Further, a part of theconfiguration of one embodiment may additionally include a configurationof another embodiment. Further, a part of the configuration of eachembodiment may be added/removed/replaced to or from another embodiment.The configurations illustrated in figures aim to merely illustrate ascope that is needed for explanation and do not illustrate all theconfigurations required for achieving the actual product.

1. A storage system, comprising: a storage apparatus that stores thereindata used by an external apparatus; first and second temporary datastorage units that temporarily store therein data to be written to thestorage apparatus from the external apparatus or data read from thestorage apparatus; a first data transfer controller communicativelycoupled with the external apparatus, and the first and second temporarydata storage units, and controls data transfer between the externalapparatus, and the first and second temporary data storage units; asecond data transfer controller communicatively coupled with the firstand second temporary data storage units, and the storage apparatus, andcontrols data transfer between the first and second temporary datastorage units, and the storage apparatus; a third data transfercontroller communicatively coupled with the first and second temporarydata storage units, that controls data transfer between the first andsecond temporary storage units, and performs a data processing functionnot included in the first and second data transfer controllers; and adata transfer control management unit that causes any one of a firstdata transfer process and a second data transfer process to be performedupon receipt of a data I/O request from the external apparatus, thefirst data transfer process executing data transfer between the externalapparatus and the storage apparatus via the first temporary data storageunit under control of the first and second data transfer controllers,and the second data transfer process executing data transfer between theexternal apparatus or the storage apparatus and the second temporarydata storage unit under control of the first and second data transfercontrollers and executing data transfer between the first temporary datastorage unit and the second temporary data storage unit under control ofthe third data transfer controller.
 2. The storage system according toclaim 1, wherein the data transfer control management unit checkscontents of the I/O data request received from the external apparatusand instructs the first, second, and third data transfer controllers toperform the second data transfer process when determining that targetdata of the data I/O request includes data to be processed using thedata processing function included in the third data transfer controller,the data transfer control management unit checks the contents of thedata I/O request received from the external apparatus and instructs thefirst and second data transfer controllers to perform the first datatransfer process when determining that the target data of the data I/Orequest is not data to be processed using the data processing functionof the second data transfer controller but is data transferable atfaster rate through the first data transfer process than through thesecond data transfer process, the data processing function of the thirddata transfer controller includes any one of: a process of appending aspecial error detection code that is not supported by the first andsecond data transfer controllers to a data to be transferred oranalyzing the error detection code appended to a data; a process ofdetermining whether data to be transferred includes a specific datapattern; a process of redundantly writing data to be transferred to aplurality of different storage areas in the first temporary data storageunit; and a process performed, in a case the data transfer controlmanagement unit determines that the data I/O request includes a datareading process from the storage apparatus to the first temporary datastorage unit and further determines that dirty data is included in thefirst temporary data storage unit to which the read data is to bewritten, the process being reading the first temporary data storage unitafter masking data that is a part of the read data and that correspondsto an area where the dirty data is written, the second temporary datastorage unit is configured as a part of the first temporary data storageunit, and the data transfer control management unit evaluates a data I/Oload status for each of the first and second temporary data storageunits, and changes, according to the evaluation result, a ratio of astorage capacity of the second temporary data storage unit to a storagecapacity of the first temporary data storage unit.
 3. The storage systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the data transfer control management unitchecks contents of the I/O data request received from the externalapparatus and instructs the first, second, and third data transfercontrollers to perform the second data transfer process when determiningthat target data of the data I/O request includes data to be processedusing the data processing function included in the third data transfercontroller.
 4. The storage system according to claim 1, the datatransfer control management unit checks the contents of the data I/Orequest received from the external apparatus and instructs the first andsecond data transfer controllers to perform the first data transferprocess when determining that the target data of the data I/O request isnot data to be processed using the data processing function of the thirddata transfer controller but is data transferable at faster rate throughthe first data transfer process than through the second data transferprocess.
 5. The storage system according to claim 1, wherein the dataprocessing function possessed by the third data transfer controllerincludes any one of: a process of appending a special error detectioncode that is not supported by the first and second data transfercontrollers to the data to be transferred or analyzing the errordetection code appended to the data; a process of checking whether datato be transferred includes a specific data pattern; and a process ofredundantly writing data to be transferred to a plurality of differentstorage areas in the first temporary data storage unit.
 6. The storagesystem according to claim 1, wherein the data processing functionpossessed by the third data transfer controller is a process to beperformed, in a case the data transfer control management unitdetermines that the data I/O request includes a data reading processfrom the storage apparatus to the first temporary data storage unit andfurther determines that dirty data is included in the first temporarydata storage unit to which the read data is to be written, the processbeing reading the first temporary data storage unit after masking datathat is a part of the read data and that corresponds to an area wherethe dirty data is written.
 7. The storage system according to claim 1,wherein the second temporary data storage unit is configured as a partof the first temporary data storage unit.
 8. The storage systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the data transfer control management unitevaluates a data I/O load status for each of the first and secondtemporary data storage units and changes, according to the evaluationresult, a ratio of a storage capacity of the second temporary datastorage unit to a storage capacity of the first temporary data storageunit.
 9. The storage system according to claim 1, wherein the storagesystem is communicatively coupled via the first data transfer controllerwith an other equivalent storage system that includes the second datatransfer controller and the data transfer control management unit, andwhen determining that the received data I/O request includes a data copyprocess to the other storage system, the data transfer controlmanagement unit checks if the first data transfer process can beperformed between the storage system and the other storage system, andwhen determining the first data transfer cannot be performed, the datatransfer control management unit instructs the first, second, and thirddata transfer controllers to perform the second data transfer process.10. A data transfer method of a storage system including, a storageapparatus that stores therein data used by an external apparatus, firstand second temporary data storage units that temporarily store thereindata to be written to the storage apparatus from the external apparatusor data read from the storage apparatus, a first data transfercontroller communicatively coupled with the external apparatus, and thefirst and second temporary data storage units, and controls datatransfer between the external apparatus, the first and second temporarydata storage units and the storage apparatus, a second data transfercontroller communicatively coupled with the first and second temporarydata storage units and the storage apparatus, and controls data transferbetween the first and second temporary data storage units and thestorage apparatus, a third data transfer controller communicativelycoupled with the first and second temporary data storage units, thatcontrols data transfer between the first and second temporary storageunits, and performs a data processing function not included in the firstdata transfer controller, and a data transfer control management unitthat manages the first, second, and third data transfer controllers, thedata transfer method comprising: executing by the data transfer controlmanagement unit, upon receipt of a data I/O request from the externalapparatus, any one of a first data transfer process including executionof data transfer via the first temporary data storage unit between theexternal apparatus and the storage apparatus under control of the firstand second data transfer controllers, and a second data transfer processincluding execution of data transfer between the external apparatus orthe storage apparatus and the second temporary data storage unit undercontrol of the first and second data transfer controllers and executionof data transfer between the first temporary data storage unit and thesecond temporary data storage unit under control of the third datatransfer controller.
 11. The data transfer method according to claim 10,wherein the data transfer control management unit checks contents of theI/O data request received from the external apparatus and instructs thefirst, second, and third data transfer controllers to perform the seconddata transfer process when determining that target data of the data I/Orequest includes data to be processed using the data processing functionincluded in the second data transfer controller.
 12. The data transfermethod according to claim 10, wherein the data transfer controlmanagement unit checks the contents of the data I/O request receivedfrom the external apparatus and instructs the first and second datatransfer controllers to perform the first data transfer process whendetermining that the target data of the data I/O request is not data tobe processed using the data processing function of the second datatransfer controller but is data transferable at faster rate through thefirst data transfer process than through the second data transferprocess.
 13. The data transfer method according to claim 10, wherein thedata processing function of the second data transfer controller includesany one of: a process of appending a special error detection code thatis not supported by the first data transfer controller to a data to betransferred or analyzing the error detection code appended to a data; aprocess of determining whether data to be transferred includes aspecific data pattern; a process of redundantly writing data to betransferred to a plurality of different storage areas in the firsttemporary data storage unit; and a process performed, in a case the datatransfer control management unit determines that the data I/O requestincludes a data reading process from the storage apparatus to the firsttemporary data storage unit and further determines that dirty data isincluded in the first temporary data storage unit to which the read datais to be written, the process being reading the first temporary datastorage unit after masking data which is a part of the read data andwhich corresponds to an area where the dirty data is written.
 14. Thedata transfer method according to claim 10, wherein the second temporarydata storage unit is configured as a part of the first temporary datastorage unit, and the data transfer control management unit evaluates adata I/O load status for each of the first and second temporary storageunits and changes, according to the evaluation result, a ratio of astorage capacity of the second temporary data storage unit to a storagecapacity of the first temporary data storage unit.
 15. The data transfermethod according to claim 10, wherein the storage system iscommunicatively coupled via the first data transfer controller withanother equivalent storage system that includes the second data transfercontroller and the data transfer control management unit, and whendetermining that the received data I/O request includes a data copyprocess to the other storage system, the data transfer controlmanagement unit checks if the first data transfer process can beperformed between the storage system and the other storage system, andwhen determining the first data transfer process cannot be performed,the data transfer control management unit instructs the first, second,and third data transfer controllers to perform the second data transferprocess.